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by Cliff Rold - Floyd Mayweather is fond of pointing out 42 have tried and failed to erase his undefeated mark. It’s ever amusing in the days before a Mayweather fight to point out the flaw in the math.
41 have tried.
One tried twice.
Jose Luis Castillo, to this day, remains the one man to truly stand out as a genuine rival for Mayweather. Castillo left many believing he won their first contest and he took Floyd deep into the second before Mayweather could firmly pull away.
There have been others who worked as strong promotional foils. Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley, and Victor Ortiz among others all proved to be less than genuine rivals in the ring.
It is a credit to Mayweather. One of the more blessed and complete fighters most will ever see, rivals have not been easy to come by. Mayweather’s fundamental foundation and talent separate him from most of the field.
Then he seems to outwork the field on top of it.
Love or hate the character of “Money,” criticize the appearance of selectivity in his matchmaking at times in his career, but one thing no one can take from the reigning lineal Welterweight king is his work ethic.
There are a handful of fighters in the last ten years one can count on to show up in shape and not fall out of shape between fights. Mayweather, Bernard Hopkins, and the Klitschko’s stand out as a gold standard for professionalism. They have all experienced some level of comparable dominance at their respective peaks. It is not a coincidence.
Mayweather being largely unrivaled doesn’t mean he couldn’t have had more rivals. Floyd’s 42-fight career began in October 1996. He closed 1998 at 19-0 and reigning as the 130 lb. champ.
In the years since, he has added titles all the way to 154 lbs. and will attempt to win his second belt in the class this weekend against Miguel Cotto (37-2, 30 KO). It will mark his 24th fight since stopping Angel Manfredy in two rounds in December 1998.
The span comes in at approximately 149 months and includes a 2004 campaign where he fought only once, a nineteen-month layoff and short retirement between 2007 and 2009, and a sixteen-month absence between 2010 and 2011. All together, it equals an average of six months and change between appearances. [Click Here To Read More]
41 have tried.
One tried twice.
Jose Luis Castillo, to this day, remains the one man to truly stand out as a genuine rival for Mayweather. Castillo left many believing he won their first contest and he took Floyd deep into the second before Mayweather could firmly pull away.
There have been others who worked as strong promotional foils. Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley, and Victor Ortiz among others all proved to be less than genuine rivals in the ring.
It is a credit to Mayweather. One of the more blessed and complete fighters most will ever see, rivals have not been easy to come by. Mayweather’s fundamental foundation and talent separate him from most of the field.
Then he seems to outwork the field on top of it.
Love or hate the character of “Money,” criticize the appearance of selectivity in his matchmaking at times in his career, but one thing no one can take from the reigning lineal Welterweight king is his work ethic.
There are a handful of fighters in the last ten years one can count on to show up in shape and not fall out of shape between fights. Mayweather, Bernard Hopkins, and the Klitschko’s stand out as a gold standard for professionalism. They have all experienced some level of comparable dominance at their respective peaks. It is not a coincidence.
Mayweather being largely unrivaled doesn’t mean he couldn’t have had more rivals. Floyd’s 42-fight career began in October 1996. He closed 1998 at 19-0 and reigning as the 130 lb. champ.
In the years since, he has added titles all the way to 154 lbs. and will attempt to win his second belt in the class this weekend against Miguel Cotto (37-2, 30 KO). It will mark his 24th fight since stopping Angel Manfredy in two rounds in December 1998.
The span comes in at approximately 149 months and includes a 2004 campaign where he fought only once, a nineteen-month layoff and short retirement between 2007 and 2009, and a sixteen-month absence between 2010 and 2011. All together, it equals an average of six months and change between appearances. [Click Here To Read More]
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